A well-known Washington lobbying firm with links to the financial industry has proposed an $850,000 plan to take on OccupyWallStreet and politicians who might express sympathy for the protests, according to a memo obtained by the MSNBC program “Up w/ Chris Hayes.”

The proposal was written on the letterhead of the lobbying firm Clark Lytle Geduldig & Cranford and addressed to one of CLGC’s clients, the American Bankers Association.

CLGC’s memo proposes that the ABA pay CLGC $850,000 to conduct “opposition research” on Occupy WallStreet in order to construct “negative narratives” about the protests and allied politicians. The memo also asserts that Democratic victories in 2012 would be detrimental for Wall Street and targets specific races in which it says Wall Street would benefit by electing Republicans instead....

The rich have to hire lobbyists to fight off the 99%?????? That is pretty amazing.

>>>>> The gerrymandering done by the Ohio Republicans in order to create new maps for redistricting, is drawing a lot of attention. After further study, many people have noticed that one particular Republican will benefit from the new lines.

When Republicans in the Ohio General Assembly approved new congressional districts in September, the new map not only split Stark County into three districts, it also established district lines in unexpected places in southwest Canton....

....It’s not a coincidence that three Timken plants, part of Timken headquarters and its Timken technology center in Jackson Township, are in the 16th District.

Ohio House Republican spokesman Mike Dittoe said in an email: “The new map simply reflects the desire to continue to have the Timken facilities, a landmark staple of the 16th Congressional District in Northeast Ohio since at least the 1960s, continue (to) be represented by the 16th Congressional District. ... Rep. Renacci is also a member of the Congressional Steel Caucus; so it also makes sense to have the Timken facilities represented by someone who serves in that caucus.”

The Republicans have to protect the Timken people. Open Secrets reports that people associated with Timken Co. have contributed $124,000 to Republican candidates in the election cycles of 2008, 2010, and 2012, and just over $5000 to Democratic candidates.